New Road Would Give Stewart Int'l Airport a Lift

"The loss of those acres is a huge negative impact," said Maureen Halahan, president of the Orange County Partnership, an economic development group based in Goshen. "The trade-off was extraordinarily large. There wasn't a whole lot of compromise."

But Sandra Kissam, president of SPARC, said the agreement preserves the space for the public, which can hike, ride bicycles and take part in other leisure activities in what is otherwise a rapidly developing region.

"It's an extraordinary oasis," she said Friday, comparing it to the role Central Park plays in the middle of Manhattan.

If highway proponents are correct, the road project should lead to new air service from a number of major carriers, including Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.

Southwest is among those airport management has been talking with, said Chuck Seliga, president and chief operating officer at Stewart. But the congested two-lane road to the airport has been an obstacle.

"Southwest has said don't tell me about Drury Lane anymore," Seliga said last week. "Just tell me when the shovel's in the ground."

The shovel could go into the ground as soon as mid-January. When the nearly $ 50 million project is completed in late 2007, a new highway will link Interstate 84 directly to the airport terminal.

Meanwhile, another interchange will connect Interstate 84 with the New York State Thruway. The two interstates cross, but there's never been a direct connection. Instead, traffic had to exit onto local roads from one superhighway before they could enter the other. It's like having to exit onto Broadway in Menands to connect between I-787 and I-90.

The project also is good news for Albany developer First Columbia LLC, which has been seeking to develop an office park on Stewart property.

While Kevin Bette, a principal at First Columbia, said although he lobbied to keep the land along Drury Lane available for development, its removal from the marketplace should help his project along.

"From my standpoint, it's just great, because there's no competition," Bette said.

While Bette may not face competition, it could be another story for Albany International Airport.

Now, the much larger Albany airport, with low-fare carriers Southwest and Independence Air, draws passengers from a wide region, including the mid-Hudson Valley.

"There is leakage from our market up to Albany," said Tanya Vanasse, general manager for marketing at Stewart. "We'd be a competitor only to keep our own market here."

But landing even JetBlue could make a difference.

"Our catchment area does extend to that region," said John O'Donnell, chief executive officer at Albany International Airport. "If JetBlue moved into Stewart, we'd probably see some leakage to that airport, no doubt."

Stewart has seen airport boardings dwindle as airlines have reduced flights. October boardings fell 53 percent from year-earlier levels to 14,218 passengers. Albany saw a more modest 0.9 percent decline, to 136,725 boardings.

But Stewart has a much larger population surrounding its airport. "Their market potential is almost twice as great as Albany's," Bette said. Stewart saw 219,000 boardings in the 12 months ending in October. Bette said Stewart could see a sixfold or eightfold increase in passengers.